Decorative shutter and mounting means therefor

ABSTRACT

A decorative shutter having an integral plastic skin with a peripheral substantially flat section and an interior slat like area. An integral flange extends about the periphery of the flat section and substantially perpendicular thereto. A rigid foam frame is secured in abutting relationship with the flat section and with the flange, and the frame has a substantially rectangular cross section. A wall portion is integral with the frame and extends substantially parallel to one side of the rectangular frame opposite the side of the frame abutting the flange. This wall section provides a channel which mates with an extending blind fastener mounted on the exterior wall of the building. In this manner the blind fastener may be easily attached to the wall and the shutter pressed firmly thereon so as to be permanently secured thereto.

United States Patent [191 Rousey [4 1 June 3,1975

[ DECORATIVE SHUTTER AND MOUNTING MEANS THEREFOR [75] Inventor: DonaldL. Rousey, Des Plaines, Ill.

[73] Assignee: Questor Corporation, Toledo, Ohio [22] Filed: Mar. 20,1974 [21] Appl. No.: 453,163

52 user. ..s2/473;52/314;52/479;

, 248/225 51 Int. Cl.....- ..E04c 2/38;E06b 7/08 58 Field ofSearch52/473, 306,309,314,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,341,994 9/1967 Olson52/204 3,461,629 8/1969 Smith 52/625 X 3,548,555 12/1970 Trostle et al52/314 X Primary Examiner-.1. Karl Bell 57 ABSTRACT A decorative shutterhaving an integral plastic skin with a peripheral substantially flatsection and an interior slat like area. An integral flange extends aboutthe periphery of the flat section and substantially perpendicularthereto. 'A rigid foam frame is secured in abutting relationship withthe flat section and with the flange, and the frame has a substantiallyrectangular cross section. A wall portion is integral with the frame andextends substantially parallel to one side of the rectangular frameopposite the side of the frame abutting the flange. This wall sectionprovides a channel which mates with an extending blind fastener mountedon the exterior wall of the building. In this manner the blind fastenermay be easily attached to the wall and the shutter pressed firmlythereon so as to be permanently secured thereto.

4 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures PATENTEQJM 1215 3886; vo

This invention relates generally; to. decorative ,shutters and moreparticularly tddecor'a tiye. shut-ters using blind fasteners. I

In earlier years outdoor windo 'iw shutters were extensively used andprovided afvery functional purpose. The shutters were normally foldedback and remained open in the milder months and could be easily shutandsecured so as to cover the .windows of the housefrom the exterior inmore severe climatic conditions. Such usage has gradually disappearedexcept in special instances and. therefore, the functional aspects ofthese shutters is no longer desirable in most cases.

However, the use of non-functionalshutters remains today and may be.seen in use on the majority of the homes which are being build. Theshutters are mounted on opposite sides of the window so as to provide acertain period look to the house.

Fora consideralbeperiod .of time these decorative shutters were made ofsubstantially the same material as were the real functional shutters,i.e., wood. These shutters would be placed in the appropriate positionadjacent the windows and then nailed or screwed into the exterior wallof the house. There are several disadvantages to the use of thisdecorative type of wood shutter. First, by making them of. standardwood, the shutters are essentially quite heavy and must be secured oranchored to the wall with sufficient hardware so as not to pull theshingles away from the building. They must also be secured so as toavoid the shutters themselves falling from the building under certainconditions, such as severe wind and ice. Secondly, if the shutters aremade so as to have the proper appearance, they must be built with aperipheral'outer frame and slats must be placed centrally, all of whichconnotes a great deal of time and labor. Also. wooden shutters needpainting regularly in order to protect them from the weather.

To overcome the above deficiencies, there are now available varioustypes of shutters which are molded primarily from plastic materials.Such a mold can be so designed that the appearance still retains theouter frame view and a central slat-like appearance. However, one of theproblems with this type of shutter is that it must be secured to thewall exteriorly by means such as nails, screws, and the like. There isno sufficient manner, to my knowledge, to secure these plastic shuttersto a wall by these means without marring the appearance of the overallshutter since nails and screws are very difficult to hide.

Accordingly. it is an object of this invention to provide a lightweightplastic shutter which may be secured to an exterior wall by means whichdo not show from the exterior portion of the shutter.

A further object of this invention is to provide a unitary structurewhich is easily attached to the exterior wall of the house by means of ablind fastener.

These and other objects of the invention will become apparent from thefollowing description when taken in conjunction with the drawingswherein:

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a partial section of theshutter and the blind fastener associated therewith;

FIG. 2 is a partial sectional view of a shutter cover- 2;

FIG. 3 is a top view of the shutter. blind fastener and Qwall before theshutter is attached thereto; and

FIG. 4 is a top sectional view of the shutter of FIG. 3 in place againstthe wall.

' Broadly speaking. the invention comprises a decorative shutter havingan integral plastic skin with a peripheral substantially flat sectionand an interior'slatlike area. An integral flange extends about theperiphery of the flat section and substantiallyperpendicular thereto. Arigid foam frame is secured in abutting relationship with the flatsection and with the flange, and the frame has a substantaillyrectangular cross section.

A wall portion is integral with the frame and extends secured thereto.

Turning now more specifically to the drawings, there -is shown in FIG. 1a partial sectional view of one corner of the decorative shutter used inthe present invention. The shutter 11 has a peripheral flat area 13which extends entirely about the shutter and a central section 14 moldedso as to appear to be a slatted section.

As shown in FIG. 2 the outer or visible section of the shutter is madeofa thin plastic skin 15 which is vacuum formed and a lamination 17, suchlamination including the color desired for the particular shutter inuse.

A peripheral flange 19 extends perpendicularly from the flat section 13about the entire shutter so as to form a guide structure for thesupporting frame.

In the present illustration, the frame is made of a foamed PVC extrusionhaving four section, two hori- 'zontal and two vertical. Thesehorizontal and vertical elements are mitered as at 25 and are separatelystapled, ultrasonically welded or otherwise fastened to produce arectangular stiffened structure. The entire frame is attached to therear of the shutter about the flat portion 13 thereof by means such asadhesive or the like.

Each of the horizontal and vertical sections is basically of arectangular cross section and is preferrably hollow to reduce thematerial needed and the weight of the structure. A wall 27 is formedintegrally with the frame 25 and extends substantially parallel to oneside of the frame, such side being opposite of that of the flange 19.This structure forms a channel 29. As can be appreciated. although thewall 27 is rigid, the particular construction as shown allows the wallto flex at the inner corner thereof.

The purpose of the channel 29 is to accept a blind fastener, i.e., afastener which is mounted on the exterior of the house but which willnot be visible when the shutter is finally in place. Such a fastener 29is shown in FIG. 1 and includes a central section 31 having a pluralityof bore holes therein such as 33 and 35. The fastener is attached to theexterior wall of the house by merely driving the proper size nails 37 orscrews through the openings in the blind fastener.

At each end of the blind fastener there is an arm 39, 41 extendingsubstantially perpendicular to the basic fastener and thus to the wallof the house. The arms 39 and 41 are metal worked so as to provideprotruding angular prongs such as shown at 43 and 45. The length of thefastener 29 is such that when in position, the protruding arms 41 and 39will mate with the channels 29 in the frame.

FIGS. 3 and 4 illustrate the use of the blind fastener with a channeland, in the illustrated embodiment, the channel which would appear atthe opposite side of the shutter from that which is shown in FIG. 1.

The blind fastener is shown as already secured to the wall of the housewith the arm 39 extending substantially perpendicularly outwardtherefrom together with the formed prongs 45.

The frame 51 is alinged with the arm 39 prior to pressing the frame intoposition. It will be seen that the wall 53 prior to insertion of the arm39 extends slightly at an angle towards the frame 51. If desired theframe may be formed to have a ridge 55 on frame 51 and a notch 59 in thearm 53 so as to further assure positive retainment of the prongs 45. Thewall 53 may also be formed so as to have an outwardly extending anglesection 57 and its termination so as to provide an easy guidance openingfor the arm 39.

P16. 4 shows the shutter in position with the support frame 51 firmlyabutting the wall and the arm 39 securely within the channel formed bythe wall 53 and the frame 51. Since the support frame is made of afoamed polyvinyl the prongs 45 will dig into the structural material asthe pressure forces the wall 53 away from the section 51. This, initself will secure and lock the shutter to the wall, but as statedabove, the ridge 55 and the notch 59 may further assist in such absolutecontainment.

The use of the formed PVC extrusions gives strength and yet flexibilityto the shutter. There has been designed therefore, a lightweightextremely attractive shutter which may be manufactured for a much lessexpense than that of the equivalent wooded frame and which uses amounting means not visible from the exterior of the shutter.

The above description and drawings are illustrative only, and the scopeof the present invention is to be limited only by the following claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A decorative shutter device for securing to an exterior of a housecomprising an integral plastic skin having a peripheral substantiallyflat section and an interior slat-like area;

an integral flange about the periphery of said flat sectionsubstantially perpendicular to said flat section;

a rigid foam frame secured in abutting relationship within said flatsection and said flange, said frame having a substantially rectangularcross section; and

a wall integral with said frame and substantially parallel with saidframe opposite said flange;

said wall and said frame forming a channel for accepting a fastenerextending outwardly from said exterior of said house.

2. The shutter device of claim 1 wherein said fastener comprises a rigidsubstantially flat plate member;

arms integral with said plate member extending outwardly at each endthereof at substantially right angles thereto; and

prongs protruding from said arms;

said arms engaging said channel in said frame at opposite sides thereof,said prongs securing said frame to said arms.

3. The shutter device of claim 2 further comprising a notch in the innerside of said wall for retaining said prongs.

4. The shutter device of claim 1 further comprising an outwardlyextending angle section at the terminal end of said wall.

1. A decorative shutter device for securing to an exterior of a housecomprising an integral plastic skin having a peripheral substantiallyflat section and an interior slat-like area; an integral flange aboutthe periphery of said flat section substantially perpendicular to saidflat section; a rigid foam frame secured in abutting relationship withinsaid flat section and said flange, said frame having a substantiallyrectangular cross section; and a wall integral with said frame andsubstantially parallel with said frame opposite said flange; said walland said frame forming a channel for accepting a fastener extendingoutwardly from said exterior of said house.
 1. A decorative shutterdevice for securing to an exterior of a house comprising an integralplastic skin having a peripheral substantially flat section and aninterior slat-like area; an integral flange about the periphery of saidflat section substantially perpendicular to said flat section; a rigidfoam frame secured in abutting relationship within said flat section andsaid flange, said frame having a substantially rectangular crosssection; and a wall integral with said frame and substantially parallelwith said frame opposite said flange; said wall and said frame forming achannel for accepting a fastener extending outwardly from said exteriorof said house.
 2. The shutter device of claim 1 wherein said fastenercomprises a rigid substantially flat plate member; arms integral withsaid plate member extending outwardly at each end thereof atsubstantially right angles thereto; and prongs protruding from saidarms; said arms engaging said channel in said frame at opposite sidesthereof, said prongs securing said frame to said arms.
 3. The shutterdevice of claim 2 further comprising a notch in the inner side of saidwall for retaining said prongs.